Louie Yovino: Broward boys lacrosse Player of the Year

St. Thomas sophomore

Matches against national boys lacrosse powers such as McDonogh (Md.) involve teams developing some great scheme.

An hour before St. Thomas Aquinas played McDonogh, coach Terry Crowley opted to play sophomore midfielder Louie Yovino in attack.

"He went up against an All-American senior defenseman they have that's going to Notre Dame," Crowley said.

Yovino scored two goals in a 10-3 loss. His performance was a watershed moment for St. Thomas. It proved Yovino could step up in the biggest of games. That's exactly what Yovino did en route to being named the Sun Sentinel's boys lacrosse Player of the Year.

He scored 50 goals and 15 assists leading the Raiders (15-6) to their first appearance at the state lacrosse tournament.

The state tournament provided Yovino the outlet to showcase his skills, scoring five goals in a 14-9 semifinals loss to The Benjamin School.

"I knew at the beginning of the season I had to make a spot [on the roster] for myself," Yovino said. "I had to come in and assert myself."

The Raiders entered the season on shaky ground. Two of their three attackers were already injured. Their third attacker tore his ACL five minutes into the season.

Yovino's effort against McDonogh was a sign that the Raiders could still have a main offensive threat while other players were recovering from injuries.

It was quite a jump compared to how Yovino started the season.

"If you had judged me at the beginning," he said. "I wouldn't be considered a player of the year."

Yovino said he was adjusting to playing heavy varsity minutes.

Once there was comfort, he began to excel.

He started scoring big goals. He scored a game-tying goal in a 10-9 loss to Boca Raton. Then there was the game against Benjamin, which put him on the map with college programs.

"With someone like Louie, he has the grades," said Crowley of Yovino, who has a 4.5 GPA. "When you have grades and that kind of talent, it opens up the Ivies, the Notre Dames and the Villanovas."